Norwich — Words such as magical, peaceful and justice were used repeatedly Friday during the hourlong ceremony to dedicate the Ellis Walter Ruley Memorial Park at 28 Hammond Ave.

Project Committee Chairman Frank Manfredi thanked the city, the Sachem Fund for financing the park, other cash donors and the numerous local contractors and businesses that donated plantings, wood chips, mulch and hours of labor to clear brush and debris from the long-neglected property.

In the background, through speeches by dignitaries, the more than 60 people attending heard the flowing water from the small, concrete fountain that sits in the center of a small patio overlooking the Ruley homestead.

Mayor Peter Nystrom said the city’s recognition of Ruley was “very long overdue.” For decades, Ruley’s artwork went unrecognized, except by a few admirers — longtime Slater Memorial Museum Director Joseph Gualtieri called him a genius and hosted Ruley's only art show during the painter's lifetime.

Ruley's 3-acre homestead property on Friday became a new centerpiece for Norwich, and Slater will host an exhibit of Ruley's works from Sept. 23 through Dec. 7. Ruley Project Committee member Lottie Scott suggested Norwich host an annual Ruley festival.

“It’s just such a beautiful setting,” Nystrom said. “The rugged landscape here speaks to the strength of this man who is now being acknowledged, as he should always have been.”

African-American folk artist Ruley lived on the property with his extended family from 1933 until 1959, when Ruley was found dead at the base of the long, steep driveway, his death ruled accidental. Eleven years earlier, Ruley’s son-in-law Douglas Harris was found dead, head-first in the well on the property. Decades later, in 2015, Harris' death was ruled a homicide by strangulation.

Several members of the Ruley family attended Friday’s event and recalled visits as small children to the home of their great-grandfather or great-uncle.

Harry Ruley III added his father’s name to those who should be thanked for making the park come to fruition. The elder Harry Ruley frequently lobbied the Norwich City Council to honor Ellis Ruley, to no avail during his lifetime. He died several years ago.

“I feel good that Ellis Ruley finally is getting recognized,” Harry Ruley III said. “My dad got this going.”

Ruley said he used to come to the property with his dad as a child. His cousin DeLois Lindsey recalled similar visits, although her mother, Gladys Traynum, fretted about driving the car up the steep dirt driveway, especially in the dark. There were no streetlights along the road, and no lighting on the property. The family used kerosene and oil lamps in the early days.

Family members said they’ve come back to the property several times in the past 10 years, as Ruley’s name and fame started to grow. They approved of the park development, with minimal disturbance to the natural beauty of the land.

“I love the fountain,” Lindsey said. “And the well is very nicely done. My mom used to tell me she would get water from that well.”

Park designer Robert Groner explained the work, crediting stoneworker Juni Rodrigues for rebuilding the well top, capped with a grate for safety. Groner said the committee wanted to show what a 20-inch diameter well opening would look like and how improbable it would be for the tall, burly Harris to have fallen head-first into that opening.

Groner marveled at the glacial rock outcroppings that dominate the landscape. The workers kept the steep walking path the family had used since the 1930s but installed wooden steps in the steepest section. The dirt driveway was paved as a handicapped accessible path. Parking is at the base of the hill.

“I could see why Ellis Ruley created some of his most famous paintings right here,” Groner said.

Glenn Palmedo-Smith, the California documentarian who chronicled Ruley’s life and brought national attention to his artwork, filmed the dedication ceremony for his documentary, “unRuley.” Palmedo-Smith promised Norwich would be well depicted in the documentary, which could become a mini-series.

Palmedo-Smith talked of how his love for Ruley’s art started when he purchased one of Ruley’s most notable works, “Adam and Eve,” in 1990 at the Brimfield, Mass., flea market. Gualtieri at the Slater Memorial Museum declared the work “a masterpiece." The painting, reproduced on a plaque at the park, features Ruley and his white wife, Wilhelmina, as Adam and Eve.

Gualtieri directed Palmedo-Smith to the then-abandoned, overgrown Ruley property.

“I felt a magic at this particular spot,” Palmedo-Smith said, saying he stayed about three hours that day. “For me to come back 28 years later and see you here at this lovely, lovely park and the design of that fountain, where each person can sit privately and contemplate on Ellis Ruley and his art. I welcome you all to come up at your leisure and experience what I did. It’s very magical.”

c.bessette@theday.com